Brand rules

Rules are the things every page must respect. Some we find in your documents, and you can add your own. The writer follows them, and the brand voice and rules check reviews each page against them. Rules are optional and free.

Three kinds

• Always. Something a page should do or say. Some apply to every page. Others belong to a subject and are checked only on pages about it.
• Never. Claims and phrases no page may use. When a rule names an exact word or phrase, we keep it out while writing and the review finds it exactly. Broader rules, such as never naming a competitor, are judged by the check, which points to the sentence to change.
• Say it this way. Your names, spellings and fixed phrases. Most are applied mechanically: when a page is written or revised, a wrong form is replaced before you see it, and the review checks every page for it word by word.

Each rule shows where it came from: your documents, a starred document, client feedback, or added by you.

Adding a rule

Press Add a rule, pick Always, Never or Wording, and write one sentence the way you would brief a copywriter. Up to 500 characters. You can add rules on the free plan too.

• Be concrete. Name the word, the number or the subject.
• One demand per rule, so a finding points at one thing.
• Wishes about tone fit better in your voice notes.

When rules apply

A new, changed or deleted rule applies to every page written or revised from then on. Copy already written stays as it is. Run the review again to see which pages miss a new rule.

Brand message, not checked

A sentence about how the brand sees itself, such as a mission or a value, is marked Brand message, not checked. No single page can keep or break it. It stays on record, but the writer does not get it as a rule and the editorial review does not score pages on it. To see it on your pages, rewrite it as something concrete, for example “Mention the 15-minute call-back on every service page.”

When you are done, press Review your brand.